Sonata
by merc0
Summary: Mohinder and Matt try to discover the mystery behind the Boogeyman haunting Molly and the chilling new arrival of Dominican immigrants Maya and Alejandro Herrera. MattxMohinder slash
1. Chapter 1

Matt Parkman hadn't really been sleeping well recently. Molly's nightmares had been growing more and more violent as the days passed getting to the point where he could hear her mental cries from even his room. He would wake her up and calm her down like usual, but he could never sleep for prolonged periods of time. His own fears would grow as he began to hear the sinister voice of the man who haunts the young girl, echoing in his head for hours, even after Molly has returned to a peaceful slumber.

He sighed and rolled over in his bed, comfortable, but restless. He hated to admit it, but he missed the geneticist he'd grown to know over the past four months. The man provided a certain amount of stability to the immature Molly and his own teasing nature. It wasn't as if the younger man was a wet blanket; far from that. The man was just more patient than he could ever be. Not to mention the fact that he could cook a million times better than he. It felt slightly lonely to be without the man there, but he knew the man was gone in order to protect Molly and himself from the Company, so that the sacrifices of people like Peter Petrelli, D.L. Hawkins, and Hana Gitelman weren't in vain.

His thoughts were interrupted by a sudden buzzing sound near his ear. Looking up, he could see his cell phone vibrating and flashing against his nightstand. His focus narrowed as he quickly crossed out the names of the people who had his number. At this time of night, it could only be Bennet or Mohinder. Pulling himself up to a sitting position, he grabbed the phone and flipped the screen open.

"Hello?" he said into the phone, his voice eager.

"Matthew?" the voice on the other line inquired. "What are you doing up right now?"

Matt chuckled. "It's nice to hear from you, too. How's everything going?"

A sigh came from the Indian man's line, causing a slight sense of worry in Matt. "Everything's fine. They finally caught up with me in Cairo."

He couldn't help but to smile. "Well, that's good."

"Yes," Mohinder agreed. "But enough about what's going on here. How are things with you and Molly?"

This time it was Matt's turn to sigh. "We're doing okay, for the most part. Which reminds me, I finally made detective!" he exclaimed slightly. He smiled as he heard Mohinder's laugh.

"That's wonderful, Matthew," was his reply. "Congratulations. We'll all go out somewhere when I return." He didn't add in the 'if I return.' Both knew how much danger he was in by confronting the Company openly. "So how's Molly?"

Matt shook his head and lied back down. "Not good" he told him. "She's been having nightmares again." He heard what could have been a gasp from Mohinder, but continued on. "It's not Sylar anymore, Mohinder. This guy…I think he may be the Boogeyman she was talking about."

"What makes you say that?" the man asked him.

"She seems more scared of him than Sylar," he told him. He closed his eyes for a moment and focused on the ceiling. "When are you coming back? We miss you."

A pause. "I don't know, Matthew," he responded. "I'll try to make it soon, though. I miss you guys too." For some reason, this made the man smile.

"Take care, Mohinder," Matt said, initiating a farewell.

"Matthew," Mohinder said suddenly. "I want to talk to you when we get the chance. And I want to do it face-to-face."

His heart fluttered, but he remained neutral. "Alright," he said lowly.

"Goodbye," Mohinder said then.

Matt wouldn't be able to sleep that night, but for once, it wasn't about Molly anymore.


	2. Chapter 2

**Matt Parkman & Molly Walker, Ney York, NY**

It was almost a week later when Mohinder called Matt back. He'd just finished his tour and had one final stop in Dublin, Ireland before making his return to New York. Molly had been ecstatic and relieved when she heard the news, knowing that this meant that Mohinder would be cooking again.

The day for Mohinder's return finally came, marked by a phone call from the scientist in question. Matt kept Molly home that day and skipped work himself, the anticipation of the man's arrival killing the two. Hours later, after many card games, movies, and prank phone calls, Molly's head finally snapped up in excitement.

"He's here!" she exclaimed. Matt hung his phone up mid-prank and looked at the girl curiously. Sure enough, a moment later, his phone started playing the eerie tune that was set as Suresh's. Parkman flipped the dark blue phone open again and pressed it against his ear.

"Hey, Mohinder," he said in a cheerful tone.

"Hello, Matthew," the man said, his voice tired. "My plane just landed."

"Yeah, I know," he told the other. "Molly told me."

The man's laugh came through the phone, a light ringing sound. "Is that so?" he asked. "How's she doing?"

"The same," the older man professed. "So do you want us to pick you up?"

"Please."

"We're on our way."

-----------------------------------------------------------

**Maya &**** Alejandro Herrera, Ciudad Victoria, Mexico**

The road was long and weary, but Alejandro stuck to it, dodging police patrols and staying off main roads. He'd learned his lesson about trusting strange people that night that he'd tried meeting with the coyote to take his sister and himself to the border. They'd been driving a good long while after that, landing in Ciudad Victoria sometime that morning. They were almost at the city limits and, according to the map, were about to hit the border in a few hours.

He looked over at his sister and smiled. The younger woman was sleeping, her head cradled against the seat and window. The troubled expression that haunted her face when she was lucid was gone, favoring a much dreamier look. It suited her far better, he thought.

As they headed through the mountains that marked the end of Victoria, the woman finally woke up. "¿Dónde estamos?" she inquired sleepily. Her body shifted as she brought herself into a sitting position. She rubbed her eyes and smiled a bit at the sight of the misty tropical mountains surrounding them.

"Victoria, hermana," he told her. "Estamos casi allí." She nodded and shifted again. It was almost over. Or, it was just beginning, if one looked at it from the other side of the spectrum.

-----------------------------------

**Mohinder Suresh, Matt Parkman, & Molly Walker, Manhattan, New York**

"…which nobody can deny," Molly and Mohinder finished loudly. They were all in a restaurant somewhere in Manhattan, celebrating the promotion Matt had gotten. The man couldn't have asked for a more welcoming atmosphere if Janice and his soon-to-be son were there. Matt pushed away dark thoughts and focused on the positive. He'd sacrificed so much to protect Molly. His wife had understood, and had even been the one to offer divorce. Sure, the woman had loved him, but their path had been too rocky, and the added pressure of having to look out for Janice, his child, Molly, and Mohinder was too much for a relationship such as theirs to last for long.

_Is there something wrong?_ The lilting telepathic voice of his friend inquired. Matt looked up and shook his head.

"No, Mohinder. I just wish Janice were here to see it," he confessed. Mohinder gave a knowing nod. "So, how was the tour?" he asked, changing subjects.

"It was how I expected it would be," Mohinder said off-handedly.

"Thought you were whacko, huh?" Molly asked. Matt shot the young girl a look, but Mohinder replied to her without the slightest hint of offense.

"Basically," the man told him. "The tour did nothing to further the awareness of evolved humans, but that is to be expected. People won't believe what they hear until they see for themselves."

"So we don't count?" Matt asked jokingly. The scientist turned to the man, his face looking offended.

"Of course you and Molly count, Matthew," the man said. Molly snickered and Mohinder looked at her, curious. "What is it?" he asked.

"He was joking, Mohinder," she told him. "Where'd your sense of humor go?"

"He probably left it in Africa on accident," he told her. "Some poor family there is now probably dealing with it."

---------------------

It was a few hours later, and the night had well gone into its dark hours, when even New York had a relative amount of silence to it. Molly had gone to bed, as did Mohinder. Matt couldn't sleep, though, even with the man now safely in bed. He was outside, on the roof of the apartment building they were staying in. looking up at the clear night sky, searching for al he was worth, for a star. He hadn't seen one since moving to this city, and, granted, it was rare seeing one in LA, there was still the occasion where one might spot one.

_Cold night,_ a familiar voice called out. Matt turned around to see Mohinder standing at the door to the roof with a coat on. Matt smiled and motioned for the man to come over.

"How are things?" he asked as the man finally made his way to the ledge next to him. Mohinder looked at him, his face almost haggard. Matt's expression softened as he saw the look.

"Not good, Matthew," he told him. "The Company knew about what we were doing here."

"We thought as much," he reminded the man.

"I know, but they made it seem as if they were _letting _us watch over Molly, as if we were doing them a service. It was like we never killed Mr. Linderman." He told him.

"We didn't," he reminded him. "D.L. and Niki did."

"But we helped them." The man's face seemed to grow sadder with each word. "I'm…I'm just scared, is all. I'm scared of what will happen to us, or Molly, or Bennet and Claire, or Niki and Micah. There's just so much that could go wrong."

"Don't worry about it," Matt reassured the man. He put a soothing hand on the man's shoulder. "Everything's going to be ok. Remember, we're all in on this together. We took them down once already. We can do it again."

Mohinder smiled. "Thank you for listening." Matt nodded.

"So what is it you wanted to tell me last time we talked that you couldn't say on the phone?" Mohinder lowered his head at this, but was unable to say anything as a loud echoing scream broke into his mind.

"Oh shit," he cursed, running to the door and back down to the apartment. He threw the door open, nearly toppling over various delicate items as he raced to Molly's room.

_Stop it!_ Her voice begged out over a guttural and sinister cackle. _Leave me alone!_

Matt shook the girl awake, and in a moment's notice, her arms were wrapped around his shoulders, her breath coming out in short gasps. "Everything's going to be ok," he told the girl. "Don't be scared. Everything's going to be…"

_I can see you,_ the voice echoed in his head, taunting the man. A chill ran down his spine as he tried to comfort the girl.

"…fine."


	3. Chapter 3

**Maya & Alejandro Herrera, Reynosa, Mexico; the Texas/Mexico border**

The air seemed to chill and thin out a bit as they left Victoria and came closer and closer to America. Maya's own disposition seemed to chill as well, giving the man a rightfully-deserved feeling of uneasiness. "Maya," he asked lowly when the world of the jungle changed to one of the swamp. "¿Es usted que se siente bien?"

The young woman smiled and nodded. "Si, Alejandro," she reassured him. "Es diferente aquí."

The man nodded his agreement as the two slowly made their way through Reynosa. People's skin tone was lighter up here, they noticed. And some seemed more well-fed than others. It truly was a different sight than what they were used to in the Dominican Republic and South Mexico.

It was evening by the time they finally made it through the maze of streets that made up this smallish city and towards the chain-link fence that made up the border between the United States and Mexico. Leaving the truck for the first time since they'd acquired it, they stood on the river's steep bank and looked across to the start of their next journey.

Alejandro put his hand in the river's polluted water, letting it caress his hand momentarily. Grimacing, he pulled his hand out of the water and looked at his sister. "¿Cómo sano es usted?" he asked her seriously. She'd need every bit of strength she had.

"¿Por qué?" she inquired, looking at the river curiously.

"La corriente es fuerte." To prove his point, he dipped her hand in the river and let it pull on her hand. "Necesitamos ser sanos."

She nodded and shook her head. "Necesitamos encontrar otra manera a través. No puedo hacerlo."

He nodded and motioned for her to follow him. Quickly, the two headed downriver, going from their secluded spot to a more industrial area. He told her the plan quickly; to stow away to get across. She nodded her agreement.

---------------------

**Matt Parkman, Mohinder Suresh, & Molly Walker, Brooklyn, NY**

"You've been feeding her _what_?" Mohinder demanded, causing a groan to stir from the detective. It was the day after Mohinder had arrived, and all were gathered at the breakfast table.

"Take-out, Mohinder," Molly told him in a tattle-tale voice. "And not good take-out either. Buffalo wings and pizza, mostly." Matt glared at her from across the table and started to wonder what he had done to the little girl to get this treatment.

"I thought I told you to feed her something healthy," Mohinder said in an admonishing tone. Molly snorted and shifted in her seat.

"He fed me something healthy," she told him. "This one time he got a pineapple and bell pepper pizza." He groaned again and started glaring daggers at the young girl.

"Did you cook at all while I was gone?" he demanded of the man.

"Yes," he shot back darkly.

"It didn't even look like something recognizably human," Molly interjected.

"I hate you," he muttered as Mohinder set out a plate of eggs and turkey bacon for the two of them. Molly stuck her tongue out in reply.

"Now I want you to hurry up, Molly," he told the girl. "Your bus is almost here. You have enough time to eat and get down there."

"Aww, but I wanted to get a ride from you or Matt," she told him.

"Sorry, little lady," Matt said lightly, ruffling her hair a bit. "Not today." Molly huffed and started eating her eggs.

After breakfast was finished and Molly was seen safely to her bus, Matt and Mohinder began to clean the apartment up and preparing for their respective days. Matt couldn't help but probe the man's thought's as he moved past him every so often. Despite the man's calm exterior, his thoughts were frenzied, going over a million things at the same time. Matt pulled out before his head started spinning.

"Why so frazzled?" he inquired as the man passed him again. Mohinder then stopped abruptly and looked at the man sullenly.

"I've been thinking since last night, about what you told me about Molly's dreams, and how you ran to help her out," he began. Parkman nodded and made a gesture for the man to continue. "Well, I met this child in Chennai a few months ago, who was on my father's list. He had the ability to move through dreams."

"…And?" Matt prodded, not getting the meaning behind the man's words.

"I was thinking, perhaps, that this person that is haunting Molly's dreams shares a similar ability with the boy," he concluded, at which point Matt shook his head.

"Probably," he agreed. He took a breath and looked Mohinder in the eye. "I think he has another power, too. I could hear him, last night, after I woke Molly up."

"And what did he say?" Mohinder asked.

"That he could see me."

Mohinder eyed the man with a look of concern and sat down. "This does not bode well," he said distantly. Matt nodded and stood up.

"I have to go now," he told the man. "Duty calls, and all that jazz." Mohinder turned and looked at him, nodding absently. As Matt started walking away, he heard the man's voice in the back of his mind. _Be safe._

He turned back and smiled warmly at the man. "I will," he promised, and closed the door behind him.


	4. Chapter 4

**Matt Parkman**** Queens****, NY**

Matt Parkman was grateful for many things in his life. He was grateful that Molly had a home again. He was glad that Mohinder had decided to help him watch over the girl/ He was grateful that his wife and he had left on as much as a good term as the two could muster. He was grateful that his son was out of harm's way. But the one thing he was really glad about was the fact that he and Mohinder had worked on controlling his ability to read minds.

Right now, Matt, his new partner Felix, and about five other detectives were packed in the back of a police van, going over last-minute preparations as the van sped through the city streets, headed toward a shootout in progress. He'd opened his mind for a moment, and in that instant, was completely barraged by the frenzied, and in some cases, repetitive thoughts of his coworkers.

As soon as he closed his mind off to outside noise, Felix looked at him and smiled. "So, nervous, Rookie?" the man asked, his New York accent thick and grating to Matt's ears. Matt shook his head.

"Hardly," he told the man. "I'm just glad that I'm finally getting some of the real action."

Felix laughed and shook his head at the naiveté of his partner. "You say that now, but you'll be singin' a different tune once we get to see some of that action."

A few minutes later, the van finally stopped at a police barricade. Police officers either lined the barricade or were located in strategic positions across a line of police and plain vehicles, their guns all pointed in the direction of an apartment building. According to the initial report, a meth lab was located somewhere on the fifth floor. Gunfire erupted at the crime scene, injuring five police officers and taking them hostage. Zero casualties were reported as of yet, but the nature of the situation could always change.

The seven scrambled out of the back of the van and quickly ran past the barricade, joining the other officers and detectives. Matt crouched behind the armored protection of a squad car, and began to wait.

----------------------------------

**Molly Walker, Brooklyn, NY**

"Now, Christopher Columbus crossed the Atlantic Ocean in the 1500's, with the ships the _Niňa, the Pinta, _and the_ Santa Maria._ What they were looking for was a way to get across to the other side of the world. Does anyone know what they found instead?" A dozen small hands shot into the air eagerly, wanting to be the one the teacher called. Molly, however, wasn't one of those children. She was too busy with her notebook, drawing feverishly a depiction of her latest dream.

Pencil quickly drew out an image of a small girl, herself, crying next to a man with dark skin, Mohinder. A bit far off was another man, Matt, lying on the floor, with red ink scribbled about him in a pool of blood, forming a symbol that she had become all to familiar with during her stay with Suresh and Parkman. Above it all, was a set of eyes, staring out from the picture sinisterly, as if daring her to do something about it.

She shook her head and turned the page back to her notes and started writing down what the teacher had written on the board. It was harder and harder for her to concentrate on school anymore, what with all the new discoveries Mohinder and Matt were making, and the frightening dreams she'd been having. She'd started to rue the hours she was forced to come here, where that which of a woman kept on asking what home life was like, if she found it too stressful. She always resisted the urge to scream at the woman, no, you witch. I like it there. I hate you, but it seemed to grow harder with every insistence.

As she quickly finished her notes, her thoughts wandered to Matt. She was wondering how he was doing today. Closing her eyes, she focused on the man, and in a moment, her spirit left her body and flew around and through the buildings of New York, before her spirit stood next to Matt's body.

_She looked around at her surroundings, and immediately recognized how the scene looked, like from one of those old 80's action movies Matt insisted on watching Saturday nights. The atmosphere was tense, and nearly everyone had a grim expression._

_Matt was sweating. Touching the telepath, she was instantly connected with him, and understood why. He was scanning the building trying to find out if everyone in there was ok. There was a white man next o him with short red hair. He spoke to Matt quickly, but she couldn't hear the words. She never could if she was looking for a specific person. In those instances, she could only hear the one she focused on. Matt nodded, and in a flash, the two, along with a few other men and the black-clad members of SWAT ran to the building._

_The door was already broken open with the previous use of a battering ram, so the group rushed into the building, efficiently sweeping through the building, and all through it, she followed Matt, watching as he dispatched or guided people out. At this moment in time, she couldn't admire the man any more._

_On the fifth floor is where he and three other people stopped. Matt and the red-headed man he identified as Felix stood at the door. She giggled in her mind a bit at the look Matt had on his face. His eyebrow was cocked up and his head was leaning forward slightly, as if trying to hear the whisper of a juicy rumor. It was the tell-tale sign of him trying to rip thoughts from a person's head. He nodded to Felix, and together, the two kicked the door open, their guns already forward. In unison, they shot two men that were barely spinning around as they heard the door bust open. The two moved forward. Molly started following, but stopped as she heard a familiar and unwelcome voice._

Hello, Molly,_ the voice whispered. She turned around and gasped. From the shadows, she could see a pair of glowing green eyes and the muscular build of a person, but not much else._

"_Molly?" she heard Matt's voice say. She turned around and saw that the man was looking directly at her. She could tell that he had heard the Boogeyman's voice, for that parental look of concern was there. She was about to reply, but was interrupted by a figure sneaking up behind Matt._

"_Look out!" she screamed, but by the time he turned around, it was too late._

----------------------

**Mohinder Suresh & Molly Walker, St Mary's Hospital, NY**

Mohinder couldn't believe it. Not when Molly called him, and not when the Police called him to inform him of what had happened. He needed to see for himself, to know it wasn't some cruel practical joke that Molly and Matthew had been orchestrating since he'd been gone. Naturally, Mohinder had gone to pick up Molly after the police called nearly half an hour later, telling him the news. The two were now waiting in the cold and pristine hallway, waiting for some sort of news, to know that the man was safe, that he had once again dodged death.

Molly was crying, had been crying since he came to pick her up. Her teacher tried talking to him, but he was rushing out of the school before she could get a sentence out. So much was happening, too much, too soon. Molly kept on sobbing out apologies to the man, saying it was her fault and she didn't mean to do it and she couldn't help but be curious and oh, how sorry she was.

At last, after what felt like hours, a doctor came out of Matt's room and came to stand in front of them. "Are you…" he trailed off trying to find the words.

"We're Matthew's family, yes," Mohinder said hollowly, silently daring the man to challenge his statement. Molly stopped muttering to herself and looked at the man grimly, shooting out her own silent challenge.

"…Yes," the man continued. "We managed to stabilize his condition, and currently he's asleep. We extracted the bullet from his chest. He should be fine."

"Can we see him?" Molly asked quietly. The doctor nodded to her and she started running to the room that contained her adoptive father, Mohinder in tow. She threw the door open and ran in. Mohinder followed at a slower pace.

As he entered the room, he saw that Molly had her arms wrapped around Matt's chest in a tight hug, whispering apologies to him. The man was unconscious, his skin was pale, and he was hooked up to several machines and IVs. He pulled his eyes away quickly, not wanting to see his good friend in such a position. He looked around the room instead, and his eyes fell upon another occupant sitting in a chair across from Matt's bed. He looked to be around Matt's age, maybe a few years younger. As if on cue, he began to speak.

"It was a stand-off," he began. "Parkman was doin' really good, 'specially for his first time on the job. He seemed to know where every perp was before he could see 'em. Then we got to the fourth floor and busted in on where the lab was. He just stopped and turned around like he heard something, and said something. Didn't even see the guy until it was too late. Parkman managed to hit the guy before he got shot. He was aimin' at his stomach." Molly turned around at this.

"He'll be okay, right?" she asked, her voice shrill.

"Yes," Mohinder told her, trying to reassure her as much as himself.

_Please let him be ok,_ he prayed to gods he barely believed in. _His time hasn't come yet, Yama._


	5. Chapter 5

**Mohinder Suresh & Molly Walker, Brooklyn, NY**

"Yes, is this the Wilmer residence?" Mohinder inquired, trying to sound as calm as he possibly could as he spoke. His nerves had been frayed since the incident several days ago, and it was difficult for the man to work on anything. Molly hadn't gone to school, using the man's injury as an excuse to stay with the geneticist. Mohinder didn't mind much, though. It had turned out Molly was a great help. While he worked on the phone, the girl would go through the list and, using the internet, would look up addresses and phone numbers, as well as death certificates, meticulously going through the list, thinking up new ways to approach people who'd denied him earlier. Mohinder was even beginning to wonder what he'd been doing without her.

"My name is Doctor Mohinder Suresh. I'm a genetics professor at University of Madras in Madras India. I am aware that a member of your family, Candace, had undergone an experiment funded by our University called the Human Genome Proje--," he stopped mid-sentence as the woman on the other line began to speak.

"You don't know who Candace is?" he interrogated, leaning forward. "Well, I'm sure I have the right address. The people who authorized the administration of this experiment on Candace were named Martha and Terrence Wilmer…You're Martha? Well, I'm positive I have the right Wilmers, unless you moved into your home recently…Your grandparents made your home? Well, do you have any children, any relatives at all with the name Candace? You don't? Well, sorry for taking your time. Have a good day ma'am." He hung the phone up, leaned his chair back, and sighed.

"Are you okay, Mohinder?" she asked tentatively. He looked at her apathetically and resisted the urge to scream the word no at her. Instead, he shook his head no.

"Apparently Candace Wilmer doesn't exist," was all he said, leaving out mention of some of the rude comments the woman had uttered to him. "Who's next?" he asked.

Molly looked at the list. "Matthew Parkman, Los Angeles, California," she smiled at that, but all it did was give Mohinder a crashing wave of remorse. "Can I go over to Momma Dahlia's house?" she inquired suddenly, referring to the Haitian woman that lived down the way. The woman took care of three foster children, whom Molly had grown attached to. Mohinder nodded to the girl and she squealed in happiness.

"If you're going over there, I'm going to see how Matthew is," he told her. She nodded and rushed out of the room, saying something about telling him hello as she ran out the door.

-----------

**Mohinder Suresh, St Mary's Hospital, NY**

Mohinder sat silently in Matt Parkman's hospital room, listening to the soothing, yet terrifying sounds of the heart monitor steadily beep away. The man's eyes were red, and wet trails led from the man's eyes. One hand rested over the older man's, seeking comfort from the sleeping man. The doctors had told him he'd been awake for a short time before the previous day, but it was only for a few minutes, at the most. It was still enough for Mohinder, for him to know that Matt was already lucid, if only barely.

He'd been there for nearly an hour, just sitting there, bursting into tear every now and then, but always silent. No one, not even the man, would know about his moment of weakness. Then, with no prompt, the man began to speak, trying to relieve a hidden burden he'd been carrying for nearly a month now, if not longer.

"I disliked you when we first met, Matthew. Despite Molly's assurance, I couldn't help but think that one day, you would do something terrible to betray her trust in you. So I distrusted you, if not for no other reason than to protect Molly from you. After all, Bennet had told me after we fought Sylar that you, he, and Ted came to kill her." He stroked the man's hand and continued.

"After you'd adopted Molly and the proceedings to your divorce with Janice began to happen, my dislike turned to distaste. I found you crude, irritating, immature, callous, and a hundred other qualities that I could and have listed. I remember how every little thing you did, so different than how I did things with Mira, Eden, even Sylar, caused me to try and incite a fight with you. I don't know why I felt this way. Perhaps it was my initial distrust with you."

"And then I decided to try and give you a chance, especially whenever I saw how lonely you seemed towards the end of your divorce with Janice. And it was then when I saw the man who was really Matthew Parkman. Your crudeness became humorous as I saw the way you played with Molly. I saw how much you cared for Molly's safety, and even mine, never telling Mister Bennet about Molly than what was necessary. I saw the man whose life was changed and destroyed by a company that had no business even coming near him. I no longer saw a brutish caveman, but a friend and companion." He started smiling.

"It was then, I believe, when I agreed to help you learn how to control your power, that I started feeling differently toward you. I opened up to you. Told you both in words and in thought about my life, how my father neglected me and how my mother was apathetic to how he treated me. About India, and the people I knew there. I told you about the people who meant the most to me, Mira and Eden. I told you about Shanti and what Sanjog told me about her and the disease that she and Molly shared. There was nothing that I hid from you, save for these new thoughts about you. I always thought of something else around you. I thought of Molly, and Eden, and the List, and Sylar, anything to make sure you didn't know."

He sighed and leaned closer. "But I cannot hide it anymore. I need to tell you, even if you cannot hear what I am saying. Matthew…I've had feelings for you. Not like the feelings one would have for a friend. These feelings go beyond friendship, to something more. I do not know if it is love or something else, but your injury put everything into focus, made me realize how mortal we all really are, especially with what we are doing. And I thought what if it had been worse? What if they weren't able to save you? What would it be like with just me and Molly? I tried to picture it and couldn't. It hurts for me not to see you at home, to hear your voice or see your smile. So please, get better soon. We miss you. I miss you." He started to get up, ready to leave, when he felt a tug on his hand. His breath hitched and he nearly yelped in surprise. He looked back to see Matt, his eyes barely open and a weak smile on his face.

"Did you mean that?" he asked the man, his voice hoarse. Mohinder stared down at the man, bewildered and more than embarrassed to know that the man had heard what he said. "I need to know." Mohinder blushed, gulped past a growing knot in his throat, and nodded. "Prove it then."

Mohinder hesitated and looked away, before leaning down close to the man. Matt brought his right arm around him and pulled him closer, until their faces were only an inch or so apart. "You need to take it from here," he informed the man. "And whatever you do, please mean it. I don't want to chase after another person who I fell in love with when they didn't feel for me in return."

This silent confession was all Mohinder needed. He brought his face forward and kissed the man, pouring himself into it, letting him know, that yes, he will be there for him, always, and immediately Matt began to kiss him back, using all the strength he could muster. After a while, they pulled back, their faces flushed, their lips kiss-bruised. "Wow," was all Mohinder could say after that kiss.

Smiling, Matt closed his eyes and said lowly, "You should go home; Molly's probably waiting for you." Mohinder was about to correct him and tell him Molly didn't go to school, but decided against it. Matt didn't need to worry about everything. Especially in his state. And then it hit him, what the man said.

"Did you tell me you loved me?" he interrogated, but the man was already asleep.

---------------

**Maya & Alejandro Herrera, Nashville, Tennessee**

"Let her go!" Alejandro Herrera demanded in thick-accented English. He pounded his fists against the table and glared at the white man staring blankly at him, as if he were nothing more than a speck of dust on the table between them. The Dominican man nearly growled, contemplating whether or not to jump across the table and gut the man with his own fists, but the thought was interrupted as he began to speak.

"Mister Herrera, do you know why you were arrested today and taken here?" he asked in a slightly accented voice of his own. He continued without allowing the man to answer the question. "I'll tell you why sir, as it seems you cannot answer me. A few weeks ago, you and your sister, Maya Herrera, were identified as the perpetrators in cases of biological terrorism that took place in several towns and villages in Honduras, Colombia, Panama, and Mexico." Alejandro looked at the man in confusion. His handle on English wasn't that great, so half of the words the man spoke meant nothing to him, but he recognized the countries spoken of.

"We didn't do that," the man growled out. "You have the wrong people." The man didn't seem convinced.

"Mister Herrera, do you realize the severity of your situation?" he questioned, but the man didn't have the time to answer as the two heard screams coming from beyond the interrogation room. Standing up, the officer walked to the door, his hand on the gun in his holster. "What the Hell is going--," the man's last words were stopped as the man started choking violently, grasping at his throat.

If Alejandro was any other man, he probably would have freaked out, but he'd been in the presence of his sister for far too long. He knew the symptoms of her ability. She was close.

Not wasting another moment, the young man ran to the man and wrapped his arm around his neck. He started to slowly apply pressure, letting the pain sink in at a painstakingly gradual pace.

"Don't you ever," he muttered lowly, "threaten me or my sister ever again." As he finished this, the man finally died from the virus coursing within. "Vaya con dios," he told the man lowly as he walked out the door.


End file.
